Continual equipment maintenance is a common and well known obstacle encountered by nearly all sportsmen while participating in their respective sports. Although certain ball related sports do not allow for washing of the ball during play, in the case of golf, it is highly desirable to periodically wash the ball such that debris or grass stains on the ball surface will not affect the ball's flight characteristics. Golf courses typically attempt to remedy this problem via the placement of manually operated ball washers near the tee boxes of each hole; however, such apparatus are clumsy, difficult to use, and troublesome to maintain given their inherent distance from the maintenance facilities of the golf course.
The prior art reveals a number of golf ball cleaners, which are easily categorized as the following: First, heavy-duty electrical ball washers which are designed to wash a large quantity of balls in a relatively short time and are not portable; Second, hand operated ball washers which are both fixed and portable; and Third, portable hand-held ball washers which typically operate on a battery.
The first category of machines, those designed to clean a high volume of balls and typically operate on a standard AC power source, are evidenced in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,633, which discloses an apparatus for cleaning a high volume of golf balls utilizing a hopper having a rotatable drum and a pair of cleansing brushes rotating in opposite directions through which golf balls pass and are cleaned. U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,877 also discloses a high volume fixed type machine, which utilizes a bin placed above a hopper for manipulating balls into a staging section. The staging section transports the balls through both rotating and stationary brushes, which are sprayed with a cleaning solution. Upon exit from the cleaning brushes, the balls are rinsed and dried via forced air, and are then deposited in a collection bin proximate the apparatus. Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,778 and 4,881,287 disclose similar fixed type high volume golf ball cleaning apparatus.
Hand operated machines present in the prior art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,155,883 and 4,011,619. The '883 patent discloses combination golf ball and club washer having a water tight housing with a plurality of brushes mounted within, such that a golf ball or club can be manually agitated within the housing proximate the brushes so that dirt and soil are removed. The '619 patent reveals a hand operated golf ball washer, which scrubs, cleans, and dries the balls. The apparatus includes a hand-crank operated washer comprising a cylindrical container in which there is an elongated drive shaft connected to the exterior hand-crank, which is supporting a scrubbing element, a cleaning element, and a drying element on the interior of the cylinder.
The hand-held battery operated ball washers in the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,597, for an Electric Roller Ball Cleaning Device. This device includes a cup having brushes mounted therein for holding a ball to be cleaned. Opposite the cup is an agitation means, which rotates the ball within the cup having brushes upon engaging the ball. U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,455 also discloses a hand-held type golf ball washer which operates on batteries. This apparatus includes a receiving chamber wherein a ring-shaped driven brush is positioned such that when the receiving chamber is closed, the brush agitates and cleans the ball. Another battery operated hand-held washer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,311. This washer also incorporates a ball receiving chamber and a motor for driving a ball washing brush when the chamber is closed.
Therefore, although numerous apparatus and devices are present in the prior art for washing golf balls, the present ball washers are typically fixably mounted and capable of washing multiple balls, or portable and not capable of washing multiple balls.